March 10

Since Howlin’ Wolf, nobody’s really done anything new with the blues other than Captain Beefheart. What passes for the blues today are rote imitations of dead men’s triumphs. One person that gets down, dirty — and most important, straight-up weird — with the genre most favored for desecration by lazy necrophiliacs is Little Howlin’ Wolf. Born James Pobiega on the south side of Chicago, the Baltimore-based Polish street musician creates a bizarre concoction of sound that draws on the wizardry of Abner Jay, Albert Ayler, Don Van Vliet, Moondog and the smokestack lightning of his appropriated namesake. Like the best of the blues, it’s a jarring listen for the uninitiated. But to those who know why the bleached, Budweisered take on the great American idiom is audio syphilis, Little Howlin’ Wolf is not to be missed. He brings his distinctive voodoo to Circle Thrift and Art Space on Tuesday, March 10, with the singular inspirations of Hurricane of Love, Free Girl and Crack Bytch. Doors open at 8 p.m. Free, but a suggested donation of $5. facebook.com/CircleRVA.